CookEat Recipe
Lamb Chops Wrapped in Puff Pastry
Butter-sautéed lamb chops coated on both sides with a firm savoury white sauce, individually wrapped in homemade puff pastry with the bones exposed, then baked.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 6 small lamb rib chops, about 600 g total, with the rib bones professionally scraped clean; 200 g plain flour for the puff pastry, plus a little for dusting; 150 g butter for the puff pastry, with about 15 g reserved from this total for the initial dough; About 90 ml water for the pastry, adjusted as needed; 1 tablespoon brandy; Salt and black pepper; 20 g butter for sautéing the chops; 25 g plain flour for the firm white sauce; 20 g butter for the white sauce; 250 ml milk; 30 g prosciutto, very finely diced; 30 g ready-to-eat cooked salted beef tongue, very finely diced; 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan; A small pinch nutmeg; About 10 g truffle, thinly sliced; alternatively 10 g dried mushrooms, soaked and finely chopped; 1 egg yolk for glazing.
Step 2
Make the puff pastry first. Mix the 200 g flour with a pinch of salt, the brandy and the reserved 15 g butter. Add water gradually, starting with about 80 ml and adjusting to a dough that is neither stiff nor sticky. In a cold kitchen, use lukewarm water, never boiling. Knead thoroughly for about 30 minutes, then shape into a rectangle, cover and rest for 15–20 minutes. Work the remaining 135 g butter into an even pliable rectangular block and chill until cool but still flexible. Refrigeration replaces the historical cold-water or ice handling.
Step 3
Roll the dough just large enough to enclose the butter block. Put the butter in the middle and fold the dough around it, sealing firmly with no trapped air. Roll gently into a rectangle about three times as long as it is wide, without forcing butter through. Fold in thirds like a letter. Repeat the rolling and threefold process for SIX folds in total, allowing 10-minute refrigerated rests intermittently and whenever the butter softens. Dust lightly with flour as needed; if butter starts to escape, cover that spot with a little flour and chill before proceeding. Release any trapped air with a clean fine skewer if necessary. For the SEVENTH and final fold, fold in two. Chill, then roll to about 3–4 mm for wrapping these chops. The source gives just under 1 cm as a general final pastry thickness; the thinner chop wrapping is a practical adjustment.
Step 4
Meanwhile flatten the trimmed lamb chops gently to an even thickness. Sauté them without flour or coating in the 20 g butter, turning, until cooked through to at least 71°C, about 5–8 minutes depending on thickness. Season with salt and pepper while hot. Transfer to a shallow tray, let heavy steam subside briefly and refrigerate promptly until cool for assembly.
Step 5
For the firm sauce, melt the separate 20 g butter with the 25 g flour, stirring until the flour just begins to colour. Gradually add the milk and simmer, stirring, for about 8–10 minutes until thick and fully cooked. Add the finely diced prosciutto and ready-to-eat cooked salted tongue, Parmesan, nutmeg and truffle slices. Stir over gentle heat until hot throughout. Spread in a shallow container and refrigerate promptly until fully cold and firm. For the mushroom alternative, soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes, drain, rinse off grit and mince; add to the sauce in place of truffle and simmer gently for at least 15 minutes, adding a little milk only if necessary, before cooling.
Step 6
Coat both sides of each cooled chop generously with the cold sauce. Cut six pieces of the rolled pastry large enough to enclose the meat, using a clean paper template if helpful, and wrap each chop individually, leaving its clean rib bone outside. Seal the pastry around the meat. Brush the upper pastry surface with beaten egg yolk, keeping exposed cut pastry edges free of glaze so the layers can rise.
Step 7
Arrange the wrapped chops upright, leaning securely around the inside edge of a suitable baking pan with room for expansion. Bake at 200°C for about 25–35 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden, cooked through at the seams, and the centre of each wrapped chop reaches 74°C. Serve hot. If desired, add a small plain food-safe white scalloped paper frill to each bone only AFTER baking; remove decorative paper before eating.
Step 8
For the alternative pastry ratio in the referenced recipe, use 300 g flour and 200 g butter, again taking the initial walnut-sized 15 g butter from that total, with the same tablespoon brandy and salt. Add water as needed, starting with about 140 ml. Follow the same kneading, enclosed butter block, six triple folds and seventh double fold, then roll to the thickness needed. This makes a larger quantity, not an additional layer on the six chops; refrigerate or freeze unused raw pastry promptly for a separately cooked preparation. Never taste raw flour dough.
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